I have a pair of Griot's I-talian ultra compact air horns. 2 questions

1. Has any body installed these in Mini? Where?, I'd like to replace the stock US horns in the same location and I want to use the existing steering wheel horn button.

2. Do the OEM horns run off a relay so all I need to do is mount horns and split the 2 wire connector and connect to the new horns?

I figure if I ask question now I won't short anything out...

"Happiness is the feeling you have before you know all the facts"

 

I'm pretty sure there are previous threads/post on this, so you might try a search or go to Motoringfile DIY section.

I can tell you that the Bentley Service Manual does show the horns are run through a relay and a 15a fuse. Hope this helps.. Let us know how it goes I'd like to change the horns on my LiqYellow 03. Good luck or as my Calculus prof used to say...right before a test... Good skills!

 

Last night I installed the Italian air horns. It took 3 1/2 hours (yea I'm slow). The drivers side took the longest due to the learning curve. I first cut the horn wire clip from the original horn and guessed that the wire w/ the most red on it would be the power wire, I think it has some yellow or green on it, then guessed the mounting location and drilled a hole thru the inner fender plastic and mounted the horn, it's very tight in there but luckily the plastic is somewhat flexible. I added an inline fuse that came w/ the horns using 14 ga wire to the + side of the horn, then ran another 14 ga. wire from the - side of the horn to the back hood latch bolt. Since I couldn't remove the washer to put an eye connector on the wire I used a slip on connector an installed the wire btwn the bolt and washer. Before tightening up the bolt on the horn I tested the horn to see if it worked...all the lights in the garage vibrated so OK (what'd you say? I'm now deaf) On the passenger side it took allot less time but the horn is mounted in the same orientation so it fits differently. I wired the + side to the red wire w/ green stripe(?) again the most red wire I could find and wired the - to the rear bolt of the hood latch. I then attempted to reinstall the bumper shroud and alas the driving lights connector hit both horns, so I had to move the horns toward the outside of the fender about an inch and had to use the top mounting bolt hole. Isealed up the other holes in the inner fender w/ silicon caulk. It's snug but fits and both horns make the squirrels deaf. I had to cut some of the plastic on the flap of plastic that the bumper top bolt attaches to, but only about a 1/4 to 1/2 inch to allow for the top of the airhorn to fit and miss the driving light connection. So it's done and I'm blasting at the idiot drivers that don't look in their mirrors or the trucks that might squish you by not seeing you. Happy motoring!

 

Nice. It sounds like there weren't too many issues and it is good that you took your time.

I would recommend a volt meter next time! You can pick up cheap ones for less than ten bucks.

Do you have any pic's?

Honk at you later!

 

will they play 'Dixie'?

JPS

 

No, they don't play dixie 'cause their I-talian...maybe "arevaderche" (sp) . I blew the horns once to alert an un-alert motorist and the fuse blew, so I put in a 20 amp but haven't had the chance to blast yet (each horn is rated @ 10 amps). Some other post said he put in a 25 amp fuse. My worry is the size of the horn wire is tiny and I'd rather blow a fuse than melt the horn wires, maybe someone w/ more knowledge of wire gauge, fuse size relating to Mini wiring could let me know if I'm worrying for naught.

 

http://www.the12volt.com/wiring/recwirsz.asp


see the table for :Wire GaugeCurrent Capacity

 

You probably don't need to worry about the size of the wiring of the "horn wire" (I assume you're referring to the wire from the horn button on the steering wheel).... all that wire does is control the relay.........your concern should be the wiring from the relay to the horn. That's the purpose of the relay, to allow a low amperage circuit to control a high amp circuit. I don't know the amperage requirement of the OEM horns, but I seriously doubt they are the 10 amp requirement of your new blasters....so you might want to consider a heavier wire from the relay to the horns (assuming the red/yellow/green wire you used is smaller than the 14 gauge wire that came with the horns.

 

Thanks guys. Where is the horn relay? I don't have a repair manual to tell me where it's hiding. Is is noted in the owners manual? I missed it if it was in there. The horn instructions suggested 12 gauge wire which I was sure I had in the wiring drawer, but all I had was 14 ga. and since my bumper was off and the horns hanging there I used the 14 ga. to at least have horns. Now I can go back and re-wire them w/ 12 ga. all the way to the relay.

 

how about some pics?

 

and audio...

 

good pictorial of bumper removal thanks to M7
http://www.grillcraft.com/installs/i...install_id=165